Island residents help to raise spirits

Some Grand Manan residents have been using social media to encourage neighbors and raise spirits as the COVID‑19 isolation continues. With children out of school and in need of some entertainment, people are thinking of ways to create fun at a safe distance.
On March 21 Ginny Riseborough shared the "bear hunt" idea that has been spreading through various communities in Canada and abroad, asking her neighbors to join in. The hunt was inspired by the best‑selling picture book We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury. People put teddy bears in their windows so that others can take their children for a drive to look for them.
Riseborough saw the idea on Facebook and shared it on a community page. Islanders' response was rapid and enthusiastic, with many residents setting up plush toys and other decorations. The idea "just grew and grew and grew," she says. "I have a little button I keep where I can see it every day that says 'I refuse to grow up.' In times like these everybody needs to think of others, not just themselves." She was pleased at how many people participated, including businesses and a church. In her own window were vintage "Jerry" from the 1950s, "Zoomer" -- a grandson's bear -- and a Winnie the Pooh. She estimates there might be 100‑200 bears visible around the island.
Following that, she saw a news item about some Maritime communities where people were hanging out quilts and colorful blankets, and in at least one case, bright clothing. While the weather isn't always conducive to this project, on nice days Riseborough will hang quilts on her porch and clothesline and hopes others will follow, to "blanket Grand Manan in color -- make it bright."
Another project was a photo scavenger hunt organized by Alice Green. On April 1 she posted 37 photos taken around the island -- from the safety of her car -- and challenged residents to find the spots and take their own photos, with prizes for the fastest three. The images included shoreline and landscape views, buildings and signs.
"I was getting tired of all the negativity, stress and anxiety," Green says. "I wanted to flood Facebook with something positive." The idea came from a teenage memory and a note to her children. Green works at the nursing home, and on the days she's on duty, she leaves a note to her daughters with suggestions to keep them occupied while they're home from school. One day, she says, "I told them to have a scavenger hunt and ask their dad to make a list of things to find." Later she recalled a photo scavenger hunt she went on with a teen youth group in St. Stephen. "I thought, it's something the whole community could do -- something different for a couple of hours."
She and her daughters spent five hours driving around finding ideas for the hunt. She tried to make it relatively easy so children wouldn't be frustrated and would be able to identify places they'd seen. Then she approached three island businesses to sponsor prizes. "There was no hesitancy from any of them," she says. "A couple were really excited about it."
She posted the photos at 9 a.m., and the first finisher responded at 10:56 a.m., with the second winner messaging only a minute later and the third at 11:01 a.m. First place, a gift certificate for a hat and hoodie from MG Fisheries, went to Josie Guptill. Amy Howe won an Easter gift basket from Independent Grocer for second prize, and Brittany Harris won a $25 gift certificate from Food

For Thought Catering
Green says 35 families participated in the challenge, and she's heard of other people who did the hunt for fun without formally entering. The community response was overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic.
Islanders are now decorating their windows with painted or drawn Easter eggs and Easter plushes, so that little ones may follow their bear hunt with an Easter egg hunt. In another effort to bring cheer since schools will be closed indefinitely, teachers at Grand Manan Community School made and posted on Facebook a music video of "Don't Stop Believing," dedicated to the 2020 graduating class.